‘To avoid plagues of tyre-kickers, I decided to sell the car at an auction’
Citroën enthusiast groups but it seems there isn’t much demand for the slower 2CV in chevron circles. Owners like to drive their cars regularly, which is why they tend to favour the punchier, more common 602cc model.
Avoiding the plagues of online tyre-kickers, I plumped for an auction house. Classic Car Auctions, who specialise in ‘everyman’ classics, eagerly took on the 2CV and made the process surprisingly uncomplicated for this auction newbie. All they needed was a description of the car and some decent photos. We decided on a realistic estimate, I signed some paperwork, paid them £150 and the rest was down to their team.
Tense times
Auction day arrived and I took my mate Darren and his son Thomas – an eight year-old Citroën nut, just as I was at his age. The pair had been with me for the entire 2CV restoration journey and so it seem right they should be present for this final stage. The CCA staff were helpful and the auctioneers friendly but when the bidding began, the mood very quickly shifted. With urgency, bidders were flinging themselves into the hubbub. It was fun, with bouts of wit from the auctioneer, yet tantalisingly tense. We gasped as hot Escorts went for big bucks.
And then it was the turn of the more ‘specialist’ 2CV. An odd sense of calm drifted across the hall, with most bidders appearing to make a point of sitting on their hands. Myself, Darren and Mini-me exchanged confused glances. This was not a car for the masses, it seemed. Following a silence that seemed to last forever, there was a sudden flurry of bids with the hammer falling on £9400 to a telephone bidder from Australia. And that, was that. No ceremony, no final drive for old time’s sake. Under a light cloud of glumness, I patted the car on the bonnet and left. Clearly, I had become more attached to it than I thought.
Weeks later, Brian and I were united at the annual Citroën Car Club National Rally where he revealed himself to be as much of a car nut as the rest of us. Currently the owner of an Alfa Romeo GTV V6, he spoke fondly of his varied motoring past and especially of Citroëns. ‘After I shot the Singer, I replaced it with a Citroën ID Safari. ‘That was a really wonderful motor car. I could take both my hands off the wheel at 100mph and light my pipe.’